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Deseret News

How the disputed science of fetal pain is reshaping abortion law

For the Puentes, there is no doubt that their twins felt pain at birth.

At birth, they didn’t have the strength to cry or squirm or even grimace, Melissa said. But she soon came to recognize signs of discomfort in their facial muscles, especially in the eyelids. When they were at ease, she said, “their eyelids are smooth and facial muscles are relaxed.” But after surgery their muscles tightened and their eyelids appeared stressed. “It was obvious he was in pain,” she said of one son.

The pain markers went well beyond facial cues. Even routine blood draws or IV insertions could cause measurable reactions.

“You saw a spike in blood pressure and heart rate, and a drop in blood stats and oxygen stats,” Ian said.

The Puentes’ observations of facial expressions and stress measures mirror techniques used by medical professionals to judge pain in premature infants and fetuses in the womb. These “surrogate measures” are needed since a newborn preemie or an unborn fetus cannot express itself, cannot even vocalize or even squirm.

Blowback

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The eleven points below summarize the substantial medical and scientific evidence that unborn children can feel pain by 20 weeks after fertilization.

Click on each statement to see a compilation of quotations from medical publications and experts documenting it, or download the complete set here: Fetal Pain – The Evidence.

(1) Pain receptors (nociceptors) are present throughout the unborn child’s entire body by no later than 20 weeks after fertilization and nerves link these receptors to the brain’s thalamus and subcortical plate by no later than 20 weeks. . . .

it’s creepy that people are having this debate at all. so the abortion supporter logic is “well, we’re not 100% sure the fetus can’t feel pain, so we’ll just assume it can’t, and kill it”…?? if someone thinks a fetus can’t feel pain, they’d better be 100% sure before they do anything to it. otherwise you are knowingly causing pain to a very delicate and vulnerable little tiny human… wow!!

though of course, abortion is wrong whether there is pain or not. otherwise:

Legalized murder is all abortion is. I used to be be someone what pro choice in certain circumstances, then I met a co worker who could not have kids, got to know him and his wife and wonder why abortion existed. They are the nicest calmest people I know. They would be perfect parents because they have all the qualities to bring up a child to be caring and loving. They are not alone either. There are many man many many people out there that want kids and cant.

Then to boot, we got famous people who adpot some kid from another country so they get press.

Back on subject, of course a fetus feels pain, as someone stated, its not like the nerves just start working on exit.

Screw the science. Murder is murdet and that’s what abortion is. Any women who has an abortion is a murderer. Anyone who performs an abortion or assist with it or facilitates it is a murderer. Yeah I know that’s not PC.

How much research is actually needed to determine this anyway ? Well, after the people angling to murder babies in the womb try to convince unsuspecting nitwits that there’s no problemo . . . any mother or grandmother could save you a lot of research money.